High Noon for politicized arts funding

The next Breitbart tape debuts at noon today (EDT). The National Endowment for the Arts and White House official Buffy Wicks are bracing for the new bombshell coming from Andrew Breitbart and BigGovernment.com. The website offers a preview this morning on BigGovernment.com, citing the notorious and likely illegal politicization of the NEA, bullying artists receiving grants into works supporting the administration's legislative priorities. Mike Flynn and John Nolte write:

That Obama administration officials would make even tacit suggestions about potential artistic output to a collection of federal grant recipients is, itself, troubling. That these suggestions matched-up with very specific and time-sensitive legislative priorities should give us all pause.

But, there is even a larger issue that hasn't yet received much attention in the press. Among the Obama Administration officials on the call were Buffy Wicks, Office of Public Engagement and the lead White House official on the President's Serve.Gov initiative to promote national service. Also on the call was Nell Abernathy, Director of Outreach for Serve.Gov. One of their main goals on the call, it seems, was to encourage artists to produce works that would reinforce the President's call for service; specifically through the Serve.Gov web-portal.

As Dana Loesch recently reported at Big Government, the Serve.Gov portal funnels citizens to volunteer or service projects connected with ACORN and other leftist groups. The taxpayer-funded website is evolving into a cyber-recruitment tool for the progressive movement.

So what did happen on that call? Was the NEA coordinating with the White House to push their agenda on a group of artists eager for and reliant upon the NEA for grants, or is the NEA telling the truth that this call "was not a means to promote any legislative agenda"?

We shall know the answers soon. In the meantime, I compliment Breitbart and his crew for implicitly rebuking criticisms that he was targeting poor "black and brown" people (as ACORN's chief called them yesterday on Fox News Sunday) by featuring a blonde white woman, with the whitest female name known to mankind, Buffy.

Meanwhile, Clarice Feldman informs us that BigGovernment.com reports that a White House website encouraging volunteerism filters applicants to ACORN:

The Obama Administration has placed a large premium on what it calls "national service." It has launched a website, http://www.serve.gov/, that is reported to act as a clearing house for Americans eager to "give back" to their communities. Unfortunately, Americans looking for an opportunity to volunteer may get something they weren't expecting.

By typing "ACORN" into the search field entitled "What interests you" at Serve.gov, you're transported to allforgood.org where you can choose from a list of volunteer opportunities, including "healthcare activist." This particular "volunteer" opportunity is with the Tuscon ACORN office:[snip]

CNCS was established in 1993 "to connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their nation." It also operates the Serve.gov website, which defines itself as:

"your online resource for not only finding volunteer opportunities in your community, but also creating your own. Use Serve.gov to help you do your part. America's foundation will be built one community at a time - and it starts with you."

Pop Goes the Weasel?

The next Breitbart tape debuts at noon today (EDT). The National Endowment for the Arts and White House official Buffy Wicks are bracing for the new bombshell coming from Andrew Breitbart and BigGovernment.com. The website offers a preview this morning on BigGovernment.com, citing the notorious and likely illegal politicization of the NEA, bullying artists receiving grants into works supporting the administration's legislative priorities. Mike Flynn and John Nolte write:

That Obama administration officials would make even tacit suggestions about potential artistic output to a collection of federal grant recipients is, itself, troubling. That these suggestions matched-up with very specific and time-sensitive legislative priorities should give us all pause.

But, there is even a larger issue that hasn't yet received much attention in the press. Among the Obama Administration officials on the call were Buffy Wicks, Office of Public Engagement and the lead White House official on the President's Serve.Gov initiative to promote national service. Also on the call was Nell Abernathy, Director of Outreach for Serve.Gov. One of their main goals on the call, it seems, was to encourage artists to produce works that would reinforce the President's call for service; specifically through the Serve.Gov web-portal.

As Dana Loesch recently reported at Big Government, the Serve.Gov portal funnels citizens to volunteer or service projects connected with ACORN and other leftist groups. The taxpayer-funded website is evolving into a cyber-recruitment tool for the progressive movement.

So what did happen on that call? Was the NEA coordinating with the White House to push their agenda on a group of artists eager for and reliant upon the NEA for grants, or is the NEA telling the truth that this call "was not a means to promote any legislative agenda"?

We shall know the answers soon. In the meantime, I compliment Breitbart and his crew for implicitly rebuking criticisms that he was targeting poor "black and brown" people (as ACORN's chief called them yesterday on Fox News Sunday) by featuring a blonde white woman, with the whitest female name known to mankind, Buffy.

Meanwhile, Clarice Feldman informs us that BigGovernment.com reports that a White House website encouraging volunteerism filters applicants to ACORN:

The Obama Administration has placed a large premium on what it calls "national service." It has launched a website, http://www.serve.gov/, that is reported to act as a clearing house for Americans eager to "give back" to their communities. Unfortunately, Americans looking for an opportunity to volunteer may get something they weren't expecting.

By typing "ACORN" into the search field entitled "What interests you" at Serve.gov, you're transported to allforgood.org where you can choose from a list of volunteer opportunities, including "healthcare activist." This particular "volunteer" opportunity is with the Tuscon ACORN office:[snip]

CNCS was established in 1993 "to connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their nation." It also operates the Serve.gov website, which defines itself as:

"your online resource for not only finding volunteer opportunities in your community, but also creating your own. Use Serve.gov to help you do your part. America's foundation will be built one community at a time - and it starts with you."